Ricki Lake is 57 today. She was born on 21 September 1968.

Today, people think of her as a TV host. She hosted Ricki Lake for 11 seasons from 1993 through 2004. And later she hosted The Ricki Lake Show for one season starting in 2012. I haven’t seen either. That’s just not my kind of thing.

I know Lake because of John Waters. You couldn’t miss her in Hairspray. She made that film work. It never would have worked without a charismatic lead. She had smaller roles in Cry-Baby and Cecil B Demented.

But I’m highlighting her for one reason: she was in my favorite John Waters film, Serial Mom. What’s not to like?! She kills her son’s math teacher because he complains about the boy’s “unhealthy obsession with sick horror films.”

The film makes me feel seen since most of my friends do not understand my obsession with horror. I don’t have a simple reason for why I like them. But the thing is: no one expects anyone to justify their love of comedy, romance, art, or any other kind of film. I’m not sure why people think horror needs an excuse.

Sadly, the gore in Serial Mom is tame in the extreme. The goriest thing in the film is on the TV where the son and his friends are watching Blood Feast. It also features the opening of the Doris Wishman classic Double Agent 73, starring Chesty Morgan. Say what you will about Waters, he is a psychotronic fan!

Lake has a relatively small role in the film, but she takes a part without a lot of potential and turns it into something special.

Ultimately, I’m glad Serial Mom exists. It is a film that provides a tiny amount of insight into why people love odd films. Part of it is so we can mock how bad the blood looks in a gore film. And part of it is enjoying the fake blood in a gore film.

But if you’ve never seen it, you should watch Serial Mom now:

You can listen to the commentary featuring Kathleen Turner and John Waters.

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Ricki Lake via Wikipedia. It is in the public domain.